Medical solidarity with Gaza: in conversation with Mads Gilbert
19 Apr 2010
rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rAhead of the English publication of his book Eyes in Gaza (co-authored with Dr. Erik Fosse), Norwegian doctor Mads Gilbert recently spoke with The Electronic Intifada contributor Stefan Christoff about what he witnessed during Operation Cast Lead, Israel’s three-week long assault on the Gaza Strip starting in December 2008, during which more than 1,400 Palestinians were killed and thousands more injured.

Film Review: Simone Bitton’s investigative documentary, “Rachel”
16 Apr 2010
rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rOne of a filmmaker’s primary roles in any inquiry is to illuminate the topic of the narrative through entertainment, information, posing challenges or any other kind of engagement. Simone Bitton’s Rachel, a new documentary about the death of International Solidarity Movement activist Rachel Corrie, struggles to do this. Jimmy Johnson reviews for The Electronic Intifada.

“In the eyes of the state, we don’t exist here”
16 Apr 2010
rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rIn addition to destroying homes in three areas of the West Bank this week, Israeli forces this week invaded villages inside Israel and bulldozed and handed out further demolition orders. Nora Barrows-Friedman reports for The Electronic Intifada.

Did banned media report foretell of Gaza war crimes?
15 Apr 2010
rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rAn Arab member of the Israeli parliament is demanding that a newspaper be allowed to publish an investigative report that was suppressed days before Israel attacked Gaza in winter 2008. The investigation by Uri Blau, who has been in hiding since December to avoid arrest, concerned Israeli preparations for the impending assault on Gaza, known as Operation Cast Lead. Jonathan Cook reports.

Adding torture to injury
15 Apr 2010
rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rGAZA (IPS) – It was bad enough that Ahmad Asfour was severely maimed by an Israeli drone strike outside his house on 9 January 2009. But, his search for advanced treatment landed the journalism student, now 19, in Israeli prison where he remains.

Israel’s manufactured outrage over a presidential palace
15 Apr 2010
rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rIsrael’s hysterical reaction—and the US support of it—to the building of a Palestinian Authority presidential compound on a street named after a Hamas military commander, is hardly surprising. Of note however is the double-standard exhibited by Israel and its patron, the US. The assumption throughout is that Israel’s actions are just, defensive and in pursuit of peace for all. Conversely, Palestinian actions are aggressive and evil, and worthy of worldwide condemnation. Stephen Maher comments for The Electronic Intifada.

An immaculate conception?
14 Apr 2010
rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rThe Palestinian Authority is pregnant! Indeed, it is the unelected and American-imposed Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad who is pregnant. He told the Israeli newspaper Haaretz in a recent interview that “the time for this baby to be born will come … and we estimate it will come around 2011.” Unlike females of the human species but like female whales, the gestation period for male Palestinian collaborators with the Israeli occupation extends at least to two years. Joseph Massad comments.

A silent killer in Gaza
14 Apr 2010
rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rGAZA CITY, occupied Gaza Strip (IPS) – “You feel very sleepy and dizzy. You put your head down and all you want to do is sleep. Everything feels very peaceful, you are not even aware what is happening and if there is no immediate intervention you are dead within minutes,” Enaam Abu Nada told IPS.

Grassroots organizer targeted by PA, Israeli forces
13 Apr 2010
rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rMousa Abu Maria, co-coordinator of the grassroots Palestine Solidarity Project in the occupied West Bank village of Beit Ommar, was used to the sound of boots running on the ground and surrounding his home in the middle of the night. But when Abu Maria looked outside the window this time, it wasn’t Israeli forces shouting at him to come outside. Nora Barrows-Friedman reports for The Electronic Intifada.

Journalist threatened with extradition, arrest by Mossad
13 Apr 2010
rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rAn Israeli journalist who went into hiding after writing a series of reports showing lawbreaking approved by Israeli army commanders faces a lengthy jail term for espionage if caught, as Israeli security services warned at the weekend they would “remove the gloves” to track him down. Jonathan Cook reports.

Belgian bank financing Israeli settlements
13 Apr 2010
rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rBRUSSELS (IPS) – Dexia, a major Belgian-French bank, is continuing to finance Israeli authorities in the Occupied Palestinian Territories almost a year after it indicated that it would cease providing loans to illegal settlements. In May 2009, Dexia promised that it would not lend any fresh money to councils representing Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.

Jerusalem: heart of conflict, beginning of reconciliation
13 Apr 2010
rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rThe Kairos document reminds Jews, Muslims and Christians alike that Jerusalem should be the place where God reconciles with his people and where the creatures of God reconcile with each other. And it affirms the equal importance of Jerusalem for the Palestinian people, whether Christian or Muslim. This affirmation, this unity of vision—not in the sense that everyone must share the same beliefs, but in the sense that the freedom to believe must always be shared—is the document’s greatest strength. Rifat Odeh Kassis comments for The Electronic Intifada.

UK’s discriminatory criminalization of dissent
13 Apr 2010
rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rMore than 100 individuals arrested at or after solidarity demonstrations during Israel’s attack on Gaza during winter 2008-09. Almost all of the demonstrators charged with violent disorder were Muslim, despite the mixed nature of the protests, which were supported by majority-white organizations like the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament as well as by Islamic groups. Sarah Irving reports for The Electronic Intifada.

Sabreena da Witch: the first lady of Palestinian R&B
12 Apr 2010
rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rIt was Sabreena da Witch’s first time performing tracks from her self-produced album A Woman Under the Influence. When her performance had concluded, the Palestinian hip hop artist, also referred to as the “First lady of Palestinian R&B,” left the Toronto crowd wanting much, much more. Tania Tabar writes for The Electronic Intifada.

Attack on Berkeley divestment bill dishonest and misleading
12 Apr 2010
rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rA coalition of nearly 20 Jewish groups, ranging from the right-wing David Project and the Jewish National Fund to the liberal J Street, is distributing a misleading statement condemning a Student Senate bill calling for divestment from the Israeli occupation at the University of California, Berkeley. They refer to the bill as “dishonest” and “misleading” and “based on contested allegations.” Yet it is their letter that is both dishonest and misleading. Sydney Levy and Yaman Salahi comment.

Talking Palestine to power
12 Apr 2010
rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rIt is indeed possible for all of us to “squeeze out of reality some of its potentialities,” the reality that University of Melbourne Professor Ghassan Hage has said is found in those utopic moments that come from challenging our own thoughts, fears and biases. In that space lies the untapped power we seek, to speak the truth without fear or favor. Sonja Karkar comments.

Play shows that for Gaza women, everything is not fine
9 Apr 2010
rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rIt takes an Arab to live in the midst of political divisions, years of siege and occupation, and still say, “everything is fine.” Specifically, it must be an Arab man. Ask any woman in Gaza and she will tell you the opposite. That is, at least, the main message that comes across so clearly in the latest play staged in the Gaza Strip bearing the name “Kull Shi Tamaam” (Everything is Fine), written by local playwright Atef Abu Seif—a prolific author from Jabalia refugee camp. Sami Abu Salem reports from the occupied Gaza Strip.

Journalist whistleblower faces life imprisonment, or worse
9 Apr 2010
rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rWhat is misleadingly being called in Israel the “Anat Kamm espionage affair” is quickly revealing the dark underbelly of a nation that has worshipped for decades at the altar of a security state. Next week 23-year-old Kamm is due to stand trial for her life—or rather the state’s demand that she serve a life sentence for passing secret documents to an Israeli reporter, Uri Blau, of the liberal Haaretz daily. She is charged with spying. Jonathan Cook analyzes.

Deir Yassin’s inextinguishable fire
9 Apr 2010
rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr r”Deir Yassin,” the imperishable words of my grandmother continue to resonate with me each day for she made me promise to never forget, and that’s a promise I intend to keep to her. Dina Elmuti writes on the anniversary of the Deir Yassin massacre.

A new political option for confronting Israel
9 Apr 2010
rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rThere is a nonviolent political option out of the current “peace process” impasse. A new political strategy would involve recognizing this basic shortcoming and demand a return to legality, in effect a return to the days before the 1991 Madrid Conference which launched the past two decades of futile “negotiations” and accelerated Israeli colonization. Hasan Abu Nimah comments.

Obama said to mull Israel-Palestinian peace plan
9 Apr 2010
rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rWASHINGTON (IPS) – Amid still-unresolved tensions over Jewish settlement expansion in East Jerusalem, two major publications reported Wednesday that US President Barack Obama is seriously considering proposing later this year a US peace plan to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“Racism” charges dropped against Scottish solidarity activists
8 Apr 2010
rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rFive Palestine campaigners who contested the relevancy of a “racially aggravated conduct” charge in relation to their protest against Israel’s blockade of Gaza had all charges against them dropped today. The campaigners, all members of the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign (SPSC), had interrupted the August 2008 Edinburgh Festival concert by the Jerusalem Quartet.

Israel knows apartheid has no future
8 Apr 2010
rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rAfter decades of military rule over Palestinians and theft of our land, Israeli leaders are increasingly seeing the writing on the wall. They are at least acknowledging reality, if not yet grappling with the consequences. Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi comments.

US military aid to Israel violates domestic, international law
7 Apr 2010
rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rSince the US government gives no military assistance to any of the Palestinian resistance groups, the question with regard to US military aid and transfer of weapons applies only to Israel. Should the US government, based on international and domestic law, cut military aid and cease the transfer of weapons to Israel? Nahida H Gordon comments for The Electronic Intifada.

Sinan Antoon: “I think of myself as a global citizen”
7 Apr 2010
rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rSinan Antoon is an Iraqi-born poet, novelist, filmmaker and assistant professor at New York University. His novel I’jaam: An Iraqi Rhapsody and his collection of poems The Baghdad Blues are written with great sophistication and a haunting sense of irony. Similarly, his 2003 documentary About Baghdad captured the terror and exhilaration of Iraqis after the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime and the early months of the US occupation. The Electronic Intifada contributor Dina Omar interviewed Sinan Antoon about his work and experiences.